Fire-escape



(No Model.)

J. H. BATES.

FIRE ESCAPE.

Patenfied Nov. 9, 1897.

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JOHN H. BATES, OF WILKES-BARRE, PENNSYLVANIA.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 593,319, dated. November 9, 1897. Application filed December 18,1896. Serial No. 616,233. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN H. BATES, acitizen of the United States of America, residing at W'ilkes-Barr, county of Luzerne, State of Pennsylvania, have invented an original and useful Fire-Escape, which I herewith describe and specify as follows.

Recognizing the liability of the ordinary rope fire-escape, as found in hotels and private houses, to destruction or unfitness through climatic influences, the action of the water thereon, and through continued disuse, rendering the same unfit for the speedy saving of life, and as well considering the bulk, complication, and general unhandiness of those fire-escapes constructed of Wire, I herewith state that my invention combines improvements on the above-mentioned fire-escapes as to superior strength, durability, and imperviability, with facility of operation and diminished bulk.

These objects I attain by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

The fire-escape is comprised of sections linked together with iron links, the length of the escape being dependent upon the number of said sections, the sections themselves being of any desired, though uniform, length in each individual escape to insure a neat and small package.

The consideration of one section, the others being uniform, is sufficient to clearly explain the method and construction of the escape-inchief.

The figure is a perspective view of my device in position for use.

1 is a plain wire of the proper size to insure safety, a quarter-inch rod being preferable, passed through the sliding spool 2, and terminatin g at each end in a strongly-turned loop 3 and 5, the same being horizontally turned in spiral form, and thereby capable of resisting a pressure far in excess of that sustainable by the ordinary vertical loop. The slidin gspool2 is made of wood, rubber, or leather, as preferred, and is intended as a handle by which descent may be made from any eminence. square, so as to form an uninterrupted surface with the loops 3 and 5 when in immediate conjunction with either, and thus prevent injury to the hands of the person making the It is of a round oval design, the ends descent. The sections are joined by means of iron links 9.

In addition to the sectional portion of the escape, as-above set forth, there is' a wire rope 7, with a sill-hook 6 attached. The sillhook 6 is of heavy durable material and when in use is caught upon the inner sill of a 'window, the wire rope '7, which travels freely through it, being attached to the escape-in-chief by spring-snaps 8, and the escape thereby hanging from the window. As desired, the wire rope 7, supporting hook 6, may have a spring-snap 8 at each end or one spring-snap at one end of the said wire rope, the other end of the wire rope being spliced to the end iron link in the escape-in-chief. The hook 6 would be useless in case of an insufficient or unsafe window-sill for attachment. Therefore the wire rope by reason of its sufficient length may be thrown around a bedleg or otherwise attached to some heavy article of furniture and insure perfect support to the escape. The wire rope 7 is attached to the spring-snap 8 in either of two Ways. It may be spliced to the loop end of said snap or hammered in at its base and soldered, so as to present the requisite resistance.

r The confinement of the escape to a small space and rendering it of but slight bulk is due to the sliding handle on each section. In packing the escape the handles of the individual sections may be moved along their respective wires and thus efiect an even distribution of the bulk of the handles, rendering the escape in package form easy of transportation.

Therefore what I do herewith claim as my invention, and desire to'secure t0 myself by Letters Patent, is-

In a fire-escape, the combination of a series of wire rods each turned at both ends to form loops, handles running freely upon said rods between the loops, links connecting the loops of adjacent rods, a sill-hook, a flexible connection between the sill-hook and the uppermost rod, and means for detachably securing said connection to said rods, as set forth.

JOHN H. BATES.

Witnesses:

T. B. MONTANGE, O. B. MANN. 

